Exercise device

ABSTRACT

An exercise device including a hollow body having openings into which a user may repeatedly push vertical and horizontal legs. The vertical leg has a saddle at its top for engagement with the chest of a user and contains a bellows for resisting the user&#39;s efforts to push the vertical leg into the hollow body with his chest. The horizontal legs have cradles at their outer ends for engaging the thighs of a user and contain bellows for resisting the user&#39;s efforts push the horizontal legs into the hollow body with his thighs. Valves associated with the bellows permit the force required to push the vertical and horizontal legs into the hollow body to be varied

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to user manipulated force resisting apparatus and, in particular, to such apparatus utilizing resilient force resistance elements.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Strengthening and toning one's abdominal wall, buttocks and thighs has always been time consuming and difficult. Many individuals prefer traditional methods of jogging, doing sit-ups or lifting free weights. Others prefer to use newly developed equipment incorporating elastic bands or pneumatic cylinders. Unfortunately, none of the known methods or apparatus for working the muscles of one's midsection is completely effective, safe, uncomplicated to use and inexpensive.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In light of the problems associated with the known methods and apparatus for exercising an individual's midsection, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a device for exercising the abdominal wall, buttocks and thighs of a user which is lightweight in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, and dependable in use. Continued use of the exercise device may reduce lower back pain, improve muscle tone, and burn fat stores.

It is another object of the invention to provide an exercise device for the purposes described whose force resistance may be varied easily and without detaching parts, like elastic bands, therefrom.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an exercise device that is portable and compact in size, being capable of positioning in a gym bag after use.

Briefly, the exercise device in accordance with this invention achieves the intended objects by featuring a hollow body having openings into which a vertical leg and a pair of horizontal legs may be repeatedly pushed. The vertical leg has a saddle secured to its top end for engaging the chest or forearms of a user. Each of the horizontal legs has a cradle secured its outer end for engaging the thighs of a user. A bellows is positioned within the vertical leg and connected to a valve mounted within the hollow body. Other bellows are positioned within each of the horizontal legs and are connected to another valve mounted within the hollow body. By adjusting the airflow through the valves and from the bellows, the amount of work required to push the legs into the hollow body can be varied.

The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention may be more readily described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a front view of an exercise device in accordance with the present invention having portions broken away to reveal details thereof.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the exercise device of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of the exercise device showing details of a stop lock.

FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the exercise device.

Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the accompanying drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring now to the FIGS., an exercise device in accordance with the present invention is shown at 10. Device 10 includes a hollow body 12 into which vertical and horizontal legs 14 and 16 may be repeatedly pushed by a user to keep fit. Leg 14 has a saddle 18 at its top for engagement with the chest or forearms of a user and contains a bellows 20 for resisting the user's efforts to push leg 14 into body 12 with his chest. Legs 16, however, have cradles 22 at their outer ends for engaging the inner thighs of a user and contain bellows 24 for resisting the user's efforts push legs 16 into frame 12 with the thighs. Valves 26 and 28 associated with bellows 20 and 24 permit the force required to push legs 14 and 16 into body 12 to be varied as a user desires.

Hollow body 12 has a vertical member 30 and a horizontal member 32 joined together in an inverted, T-shaped configuration. The top end of vertical member 30 is provided with an opening 34 for slidably receiving leg 14. Similarly, the outer ends of horizontal member 32 are provided with openings 36 for slidably receiving legs 16. A vent 38, through which air is conveyed to and from bellows 20 and 24, extends from the bottom of the horizontal member 32.

Valves 26 and 28 are mounted within body 12. Valve 26 is affixed within vertical member 30 and has an inlet port 40 connected to bellows 20 and an outlet port 42 in fluid communication therewith that opens to the interior of body 12 and, hence, to the atmosphere through vent 38. Valve 28 is affixed at the center of horizontal member 32 and has a pair of opposed inlet ports 44 (one shown) connected to bellows 24 and an outlet port 46 in fluid communication therewith opening to the interior of body 12. Knobs 48 and 50 projecting from valves 26 and 28 and from the front of body 12 permit the flow of air between ports 40-42 and 44-46 to be manually controlled. (Note: valves 26 and 28 may be supplied with any internal operating mechanism known in the art that may be suitably operated by means of knobs 48 and 50.)

A pair of stop locks 52 is provided within each of the horizontal members 32 and vertical member 30 at a fixed distance from openings 34 and 36 to prevent impacts of legs 14 and 16 with valves 26 and 28. Each stop lock 52 includes a pair of opposed side walls 54 connected together by a back wall 56 so as to form a generally U-shaped structure free to be entered from the direction of openings 34 or 36. A triangular catch 58 is positioned between side walls 54 and away from back wall 56. Each catch 58 has a concavity as at 60 facing back wall 56.

Vertical leg 14 is a tube having an open top end 62 and an open bottom end 64. An inwardly directed, peripheral flange 66 is provided at end 62 to pivotally retain a button 68 on the bottom of saddle stem 70. A pair of outwardly directed feet as at 72 is provided at end 64 for selective insertion into stop locks 52 in vertical member 30.

Saddle 18 includes a pivot plate 74 positioned at right angles to the longitudinal axis of leg 14. The top of plate 74 is covered by a foam pad 76 for user comfort. Stem 70 extends downwardly from the bottom of plate 74 and has a narrowed neck 78 along its length that forms button 68 and receives flange 66 of leg 14.

Bellows 20 is a hollow tube having a smaller diameter than that of leg 14 and having accordion pleats along its length. Bellows 20 is formed of a resilient material like stiff plastic or rubber that, when deformed by compression, tends to spring back to its original uncompressed shape. As shown, the top of bellows 20 is fastened to the top end 62 of leg 14 whereas the bottom of bellows 20 is fastened to port 40 of valve 26. Pushing leg 14 inwardly into opening 34 of body 12 compresses bellows 20 and forces air outwardly through valve 26 thereby exercising a user.

Each horizontal leg 16 is a tube having an open inner end 80 and a closed outer end 82. A pair of outwardly directed feet as at 84 are provided at end 80 for selective insertion into stop locks 52 in horizontal member 32. A cradle 22 caps the outer end 82 of each horizontal leg 16.

Each cradle 22 includes a C-shaped part 86 having a convex inner surface 88 and a concave outer surface 90. Each inner surface 88 is affixed near its midpoint to outer end 82 of a leg 16. Outer surface 90, on the other hand, is contoured to receive the inner thigh of a user and is covered by a foam pad 92 for comfort.

Bellows 24 are hollow tubes having diameters smaller than those of legs 16 and having accordion pleats along their lengths. Bellows 24 are formed of a resilient material like stiff plastic or rubber that, when deformed by compression, spring backs to its original uncompressed shape. The outer ends of bellows 24 are fastened to the outer ends 82 of legs 16 and the inner ends of bellows 24 are fastened to ports 44 of valve 28. Pushing legs 16 inwardly into openings 36 of body 12 compresses bellows 24 and forces air through valve 28 thereby exercising a user.

Use of exercise device 10 is straightforward. First, cradles 22 are engaged with a user's inner thighs and saddle 18 is engaged with the user's chest or with his arms, folded and positioned in front of his chest. Then, saddle 18 is pressed downwardly against the resisting force of bellows 20 by contracting his abdominal muscles. Simultaneously, cradles 22 are squeezed together against the force of bellows 24 by contracting the thigh muscles. Legs 14 and 16 are, thus, pushed into openings 34 and 36 with air escaping from bellows 20 and 24 exiting body 12 through vent 38. Prior to feet 72 and 84 reaching the broken line position indicated in FIG. 1 wherein they may caught by stop locks 52, the force applied by a user against saddle 18 and cradles 22 is released with the resilience of bellows 20 and 24 returning legs 14 and 16 rapidly to their original positions so that another exercise cycle may be initiated. (Compressed springs positioned within legs 14 and 16, not shown, can also be used to aid legs 14 and 16 in returning to their original positions.)

As a user becomes more accustomed to working with exercise device 10, he may wish to increase the resistance supplied by bellows 20 and 24. A user does this simply by rotating either of knobs 48 and 50 to restrict the flow of air from bellows 20 and 24 thereby increasing the compressive force required to move legs 14 or 16 into body 12. Thus, a user can independently target either his abdominal muscles or his buttocks and thigh muscles for increased exercise at any given time.

After a workout with exercise device 10 is completed, legs 14 and 16 are driven fully into openings 34 and 36 so that feet 72 and 84 are passed into stop locks 52. By slight rotation of legs 14 and 16, feet 72 and 84 may be moved into the concavity 60 of catches 58. The resilience of bellows 20 and 24 trying to drive legs 14 and 16 outwardly from openings 34 and 36 will releasably trap feet 72 and 84 in catches 58 and maintain exercise device 10 in a contracted state for compact storage and transport. Device 10 may be reused when desired by slightly twisting legs 14 and 16 to disengage feet 72 and 84 from catches 58 and permit legs 14 and 16 to extend from openings 34 and 36.

While the invention has been described with a high degree of particularity, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that modifications may be made thereto. For example, a stop feature could be associated with open end 62 of leg 14 to limit the rotational travel of saddle 18 so as to focus exercise on the principal groups of abdominal muscles. Therefore, it is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the sole embodiment described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims. 

1. An exercise device, comprising: a hollow body having a top opening and a pair of opposed side openings; a first valve positioned within said hollow body and having a first inlet port and a first outlet port; a second valve positioned within said hollow body adjacent said first valve and having a pair of second inlet ports and a second outlet port; a vertical leg slidably positioned within said top opening, said vertical leg having a top end and a bottom end; a saddle secured to said top end of said vertical leg for engaging the chest of a user; a pair of horizontal legs each being respectively slidably positioned within one of said opposed side openings, each of said horizontal legs having an outer end and an inner end; a pair of cradles each being respectively secured to said outer end of one of said horizontal legs for engaging the thighs of a user; a first bellows being positioned within said vertical leg, the top of said bellows being secured to said top end of said vertical leg and the bottom of said bellows being secured to said inlet port of said first valve; and, a pair of second bellows each being respectively positioned within one of said horizontal legs, each of said second bellows having an outer end and an inner end, said outer end of each said bellows being secured to said outer end of one of said horizontal legs and said inner end of each said bellows being respectively secured to one of said second inlet ports of said second valve.
 2. The exercise device according to claim 1 wherein said saddle is pivotally secured to said vertical leg.
 3. The exercise device according to claim 1 further comprising: a first pair of outwardly directed feet secured to said bottom end of said vertical leg; and, a first pair of stop locks secured within said hollow body adjacent said top opening for selectively receiving and locking said first pair of outwardly directed feet in place.
 4. The exercise device according to claim 1 further comprising: a second pair of outwardly directed feet secured to said inner end of each said horizontal leg; and, a second pair of stop locks secured within said hollow body adjacent each of said opposed side openings for selectively receiving and locking said second pair of outwardly directed feet in place.
 5. The exercise device according to claim 1 further comprising a pair of knobs projecting from said hollow body for regulating, respectively, airflow through said first valve and said second valve.
 6. An exercise device, comprising: a hollow body having a top opening, a pair of opposed side openings and a bottom vent; a first valve positioned within said hollow body and having a first inlet port, said first valve also having a first outlet port in fluid communication with said bottom vent; a second valve positioned within said hollow body adjacent said first valve and having a pair of second inlet ports, said second valve also having a second outlet port in fluid communication with said bottom vent; a vertical leg slidably positioned within said top opening, said vertical leg having a top end and a bottom end; a saddle pivotally secured to said top end of said vertical leg for engaging the chest of a user; a pair of horizontal legs each being respectively slidably positioned within one of said opposed side openings, each of said horizontal legs having an outer end and an inner end; a pair of C-shaped cradles each being respectively secured to said outer end of one of said horizontal legs for engaging the thighs of a user; a first bellows being positioned within said vertical leg, the top of said bellows being secured to said top end of said vertical leg and the bottom of said bellows being secured to, and being in fluid communication with, said inlet port of said first valve; and, a pair of second bellows each being respectively positioned within one of said horizontal legs, each of said second bellows having an outer end and an inner end, said outer end of each said bellows being secured to said outer end of one of said horizontal legs and said inner end of each said bellows being respectively secured to, and being in fluid communication with, one of said second inlet ports of said second valve.
 7. The exercise device according to claim 6 further comprising: a first pair of outwardly directed feet secured to said bottom end of said vertical leg; and, a first pair of stop locks secured within said hollow body adjacent said top opening for selectively receiving and locking said first pair of outwardly directed feet in place.
 8. The exercise device according to claim 6 further comprising: a second pair of outwardly directed feet secured to said inner end of each said horizontal leg; and, a second pair of stop locks secured within said hollow body adjacent each of said opposed side openings for selectively receiving and locking said second pair of outwardly directed feet in place.
 9. The exercise device according to claim 6 further comprising a pair of knobs projecting from said hollow body for regulating, respectively, air flow through said first valve and said second valve.
 10. An exercise device, comprising: a hollow body having a top opening, a pair of opposed side openings and a bottom vent; a first valve positioned within said hollow body and having a first inlet port, said first valve also having a first outlet port in fluid communication with said bottom vent; a second valve positioned within said hollow body adjacent said first valve and having a pair of second inlet ports, said second valve also having a second outlet port in fluid communication with said bottom vent; a pair of knobs projecting from said hollow body for regulating, respectively, air flow through said first valve and said second valve; a vertical leg slidably positioned within said top opening, said vertical leg having a top end and a bottom end, said first vertical leg having a first pair of outwardly directed feet at said bottom end thereof; a first pair of stop locks secured within said hollow body between said top opening and said first valve for selectively receiving and locking said first pair of outwardly directed feet in place; a saddle pivotally secured to said top end of said vertical leg for engaging the chest of a user; a pair of horizontal legs each being respectively slidably positioned within one of said opposed side openings, each of said horizontal legs having an outer end and an inner end, each of said horizontal legs having a second pair of outwardly directed feet at said inner end thereof; a second pair of stop locks secured within said hollow body between each of said opposed side openings and said second valve for selectively receiving and locking said second pair of outwardly directed feet in place; a pair of C-shaped cradles each being respectively secured to said outer end of one of said horizontal legs for engaging the thighs of a user; a first bellows being positioned within said vertical leg, the top of said bellows being secured to said top end of said vertical leg and the bottom of said bellows being secured to, and being in fluid communication with, said inlet port of said first valve; and, a pair of second bellows each being respectively positioned within one of said horizontal legs, each of said second bellows having an outer end and an inner end, said outer end of each said bellows being secured to said outer end of one of said horizontal legs and said inner end of each said bellows being respectively secured to, and being in fluid communication with, one of said second inlet ports of said second valve. 